Decoding "High Quality Carbon Credits": 10 Golden Principles and the Future of the Vietnamese Market
The global voluntary carbon credit market (VCM) is growing rapidly, but it also faces its biggest challenge: trust and greenwashing. To address this issue, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Credit Market (ICVCM) has established 10 core principles (CCPs) – a new “gold standard”.
In the context that Vietnam is urgently building a roadmap, preparing to operate the domestic carbon market (expected from 2025-2028) and the international trading mechanism under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement is opening up, clearly understanding these 10 non-negotiable conditions is no longer an option. This is a mandatory requirement to ensure liquidity and real value for projects in Vietnam.
Market Landscape: From Chaos to Norm
As a long-time global energy and climate activist, I have seen the carbon market transform from a primitive concept into a complex climate finance mechanism. The market is at a critical juncture. Countries, including Vietnam, and the world’s leading corporations are strongly committed to Net Zero. They need reliable tools to deliver on that commitment.
But the proliferation of cheap, low-quality carbon credit projects threatens to undermine trust in the entire climate finance mechanism. If a company buys credits from a project that doesn’t actually reduce emissions, or that project harms communities, that’s not climate action, it’s “greenwashing.”
The introduction of the 10 Core Principles (CCPs) from the ICVCM is not a routine update. It is a market “cleansing”, a rigorous filter to clearly distinguish what is a carbon credit with real value.
For GREEN IN's partner community – pioneers in sustainable development in Vietnam – understanding these 10 principles is the key to creating quality projects, attracting international investment and ensuring the highest liquidity of "Made in Vietnam" credits.
10 Immutable Principles of Integrity Carbon Credits
Each carbon credit (equivalent to 1 ton of CO2 reduced or removed) must now demonstrate its value through the following 10 rigorous principles:
1. Transparency: Public access, no secrets
This principle requires that all project data be publicly accessible. This is a “no secrets, no shortcuts” condition because the market cannot operate in the dark. Stakeholders, from investors, buyers, civil society organizations to local communities, must be able to review and verify project design documents (PDDs), monitoring reports, and appraisal/verification results. Any ambiguity in information is a seed of risk and an enemy of trust.
2. Effective Governance: Accountability at all levels
A carbon project cannot exist without a clear governance structure. This principle requires accountability at all levels. Who is responsible if the project fails? What is the mechanism for resolving complaints from local communities? How is credit ownership determined? Only a project with a solid governance structure that complies with the law (both international and Vietnamese law) can ensure long-term benefits and minimize legal risks for the parties involved.
3. Tracking: Separate identification for each credit
Each carbon credit must be uniquely identified and recorded. Think of each credit as a banknote with its own serial number. They must be registered in a public, transparent, and trustworthy registry. This system allows the entire lifecycle of the credit to be tracked: from the moment it is issued, through transactions, until it is “retired” (i.e., used to offset and no longer tradeable). This makes it absolutely impossible to cheat.
4. No Double Counting: One reduction, one declaration
This is one of the core principles and the biggest risk of the market. A carbon credit (equivalent to 1 ton of CO2 reduction) can only be declared once. It cannot be sold by a project owner to a company A for offset, and used by a country (e.g. Vietnam) to report its national emission reduction target (NDC).
This principle becomes especially important when Vietnam participates in international transactions under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. To sell credits abroad, Vietnam will have to make a "corresponding adjustment", that is, subtract the amount of credits sold from its NDC report. Without this mechanism, we are "double counting" and nullifying global climate efforts.
5. Robust Quantification: Careful, scientifically based calculations
We cannot “overestimate” emissions reductions. This principle requires that calculations be based on sound science and always adhere to the principle of caution. Methodologies must be internationally recognized and peer-reviewed. If there is uncertainty in the data (e.g., carbon leakage measurements), the project must calculate conservatively rather than overstating the results.
6. Sustainable Development: Simultaneous social and environmental benefits
A high-quality carbon credit is more than just a CO2 reduction. It must generate real and measurable co-benefits. Does the project improve the livelihoods of local communities? Does it protect biodiversity? Does it respect and ensure the rights of vulnerable groups and indigenous peoples? If a project claims to reduce carbon but pollutes water sources or takes away people's farmland, it cannot be considered "integral" and will be rejected by the market.
7. Additionality: Going beyond the usual scenario
This is the “golden” rule and also the most controversial. The core question is: “Would this emissions reduction project have happened without the revenue from carbon credits?” If the answer is “yes” (for example, a solar project would have been very profitable financially even without selling credits), then the project is not “additional”. Carbon credits are created to finance actions that go beyond business as usual, overcoming financial or technological barriers.
8. Permanence: Emission reductions must be sustainable over time
Emission reductions must be long-term, not a stopgap solution. This principle is especially important for nature-based projects (e.g., afforestation, AFOLU). If you plant a forest to absorb carbon, but 10 years later that forest burns or is illegally logged, all that carbon will return to the atmosphere. A quality project must have a mechanism to monitor long-term risks (e.g., fire, pests) and a “buffer pool” to cover unexpected losses, ensuring that 1 ton of CO2 removed is permanent.
9. Third-Party Verification: Independent assessment, ensuring integrity
Trust cannot be based solely on the project owner’s claims. Just as a financial report must be independently audited, every carbon project must undergo a process of validation (before implementation) and verification (periodically) by an independent, qualified and accredited third party (known as a VVB - Validation and Verification Bodies). This unit will check every claim, from CO2 calculations, additionality, to social impacts, before credits are allowed to be issued.
10. Contribution to Net Zero: Consistent with a 1.5°C pathway
This final principle ensures that projects are part of an overall solution, in line with the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious goal of keeping global temperature rise below 1.5°C. This means that projects cannot “lock in” high-emission technologies for the future. For example, a project to improve the efficiency of a coal plant may reduce emissions temporarily, but it prolongs the life of fossil fuels, which goes against the global Net Zero trajectory.
Quality is Liquidity: Vital to Vietnam's Carbon Market
For GREEN IN and its partners, the key question is: Why do these 10 principles determine the “liquidity” of a credit?
The answer is simple: Quality is Liquidity.
The market is maturing. Large corporations (the main buyers) are facing enormous pressure from shareholders, consumers and regulators. They cannot risk their reputations by buying “junk” or “greenwashed” credits. A credit without “Additionality” (Principle 7) will be exposed by international monitoring organizations, causing a media crisis. A credit without “Transparency” (Principle 1) will never pass the risk assessment of investors.
For Vietnam, a country in the process of building and preparing to operate a domestic carbon market (according to Decree 06/2022/ND-CP and Decree 119/2025/ND-CP) and participate in the global voluntary market, these 10 principles are a vital guideline:
1. For project developers: If Vietnamese projects (such as renewable energy projects, afforestation, waste treatment...) want to sell their credits to the international market (according to Article 6.2) or sell to large FDI enterprises at high prices, they are required to strictly comply with this set of standards.
2. For businesses buying credits: Vietnamese businesses will soon have to carry out inventory and reduce emissions. When they participate in purchasing credits for offset, they will also prioritize these "high quality" credits to ensure compliance with domestic regulations and avoid legal risks.
The market is clearly divided. Credits that meet these 10 principles (labeled CCPs by ICVCM) will be sought after, have high prices and are easy to trade. On the contrary, unclear, low-quality credits will gradually lose value, no one wants to buy, and become "dead" assets.
Conclusion
The era of “easy” carbon credits is over. These 10 principles are the new filter, the common language of the global carbon market. They are a checklist to ensure that every dollar spent on carbon offsets is an investment in real climate action, protecting corporate reputations and contributing to a sustainable Net Zero future for Vietnam and the world. Don’t look for the cheapest carbon credit. Look for the most comprehensive carbon credit.